


Glassy Dream

by MidlightSpring



Category: Original Work
Genre: Comedy, Cute, Emotional, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Humor, M/M, Mystery, Paranormal, Psychological Drama, Romance, Romantic Comedy, Shounen-ai, Slice of Life, Tearjerker, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-18 11:47:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28742730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidlightSpring/pseuds/MidlightSpring
Summary: "It was just a phrase, yet I couldn't help feel so scared.The harsh ray of the sun made it too hard to clearly see his expression.It was almost like he was being drowned from the noisy light.It was almost like this was all a dream..."A simple love story of a fragile, yet sharp-tongued high school student confessing to a kind, yet mysterious classmate. At least that's what it seems like from the outside.What pain does the kind Eiji hold that prevents him truly loving the fragile Ayumu? I guess that this story is the key to what is really reflected in Eiji's heart...





	1. Chapter 1

It was just a phrase, yet I couldn’t help feel so scared.

The harsh ray of the sun made it too hard to clearly see his expression.

It was almost like he was being drowned from the noisy light.

It was almost like this was all a dream…

  
  
  


“Eiji, you’re up next!”

The coach’s raspy voice broke my nerves from the tension of this game. I jumped up from the bench and gave myself a light jog towards the field to clear up my head. Hitting my toe against the pitcher’s mound, I finally settled myself into the game. 

Everyone in my team kept shouting, “MVP! MVP! MVP!”

Even from this distance, I was still able to pick out my childhood friend’s voice, saying “Come on, MVP, finish this game!” 

From the wall of the dugout’s bench, Riku gave me a thumbs up as I made eye contact with him. I responded with a thumb up from my pitcher glove, making all my teammates shout even louder and even making Riku laugh to the point of his head tilting back.

_Let’s end this._

I set myself ready and got myself into the rhythm of the game. When that familiar feeling came by, I positioned myself and finally propelled the ball. As soon as that ball left my hand, I knew exactly where this game was going…

  
  


“I did it! I made it at least to the stairs!”

After that game, the coach took us out for dinner to congratulate us and then dropped us off at school. It’s almost been a year since we placed second place in the regional final, but this year, I knew it was going to be different. This year, we’ll be able to really make it to first place and even go to the finals this time! I’ve been staying back late at school more to practice for this last game. I’ve been waiting for this moment and I’m gonna take it with all I got!

Even if when the dimmed light prevented me from properly seeing the old steps, I always knew my way around the shrine. Exhausted from the game, I lazily pulled myself along the stair rail and stomped onto the uneven stone stairs.

While other people my age would find living in a small shrine with their grandpa boring, I… kind of agree. But, compared to what I could have, I was lucky enough to find someone who was willing to take me in after that “accident”. 

Some might consider me to be the unluckiest person in the world, but in my opinion, I think I’m living quite an interesting life.

Reaching halfway to the stairs, I stopped at a hidden path to a remote benched area where I would usually meet my classmate. I would usually meet him there everyday after school, but he wouldn’t stay this long waiting for me, would he?…

_Might as well check._

As I walked off the stone path and reached my destination, I gave a heavy sigh and shook my head to myself.

I looked back up and loudly called to him, “Ayumu!”

His small head bounced up and frantically looked around until he spotted me waving at him. Ayumu’s eye widened and then he quickly shrunk back into his seat, making me laugh about how ridiculous he looked.

“I can’t believe you seriously waited this long for me! You should be at home by now!” I gave a pat on the back of his small shoulder, making him jump up a bit.

“I-I’m not waiting for you. You just happen to keep coming by every time I’m here. Also, I just don’t feel like going back home. No one is going to be waiting for me there anyway…”

“Hmm, how about this? The shrine is really close to us, so if you want, you can stay at my place!”

Ayumu suddenly started coughing violently, making me jump up from my seat. After finally catching his breath, he faced me, but avoided my eyes.

He exclaimed, “D-Don’t say that! Isn’t that a bit weird to ask all of a sudden?!”

“Hmm, it’s not a big deal for me.”

“It’s a big deal for me!” Ayumu yelled with his face in his hands, but it was impossible to hide how red his face was becoming.

I patted his head and laughed. “Okay, okay, it’s not a big deal. But, remember the shrine is always open for you.”

Ayumu quietly peered through his finger and then became even more red. He continued to grumble in his hands, making me laugh even more.

“Don’t laugh! It’s not funny!” He punched my shoulder as he continued to hide his face.

“Come on, then stop having so many funny reactions.”

As I kept teasing and laughing at Ayumu, he eventually gave up and joined me in one of the most hearty laugh sessions we had in awhile.

  
  
  


Getting hit with a sudden wave of exhaustion, I gave a small stretch and said, “Well, Ayumu, I think this is it for me. I am going to go home!”

“Wait, uh… actually I just… I kind of wanted to tell you something.”

“Hmm? What’s up?” I yawned as I placed my arm on my knee and leaned my face against my hand. 

He turned towards me and made such an intense eye contact with me that it slightly perked up my curiosity and attention.

“I-I…”

Ayumu’s frail body slightly trembled, but his small, pale face stayed as neutral as possible. He took a deep inhale and then exhaled the words he was looking for.

“I love you… more than a friend…”

And then it hit me. Literally. My elbow slipped and hit against the edge of the bench, causing me to wake back up. 

As I rubbed the dull pain on my elbow, my brain started to process the words that came out of Ayumu’s mouth.

My mind went blank. I couldn’t think of anything to say.

Ayumu shouted, “You idiot, say something!”

Finally finding the words I was looking for, I spoke up, “I’m flattered!”

Ayumu’s ears slightly perked up. 

“But,” I started to scratch the back of my head. “I want to focus on my school and baseball practice, so I can’t accept your confession!”

As I gave a quick half bow, I heard a small sniffle in front of me. I looked up and saw Ayumu rubbing his eyes against the sleeve of his oversized black hoodie. He looked like he was going to burst into tears.

With a shaky voice, he gave a quiet laugh before he said, “Of all the things you could have said, you had to say that…”

“I-I’m sorry for saying something weird! I-“

“No. No, sorry about that. I… I must have made you uncomfortable. I’m sorry. I’m such a idiot to fall in love with yo-“

I slammed the seat of the bench, making Ayumu jump up a little. I pulled closer into him and shouted up in his face, “Don’t ever say that!”

Confused, Ayumu tried to prevent his runny nose from dripping and slightly tilted his head.

I continued on my rant, “Don’t you ever say that it was stupid of you to fall in love! There’s nothing wrong with falling in love! You got me? I don’t want you to ever say that! Your feelings are just as important! So, I respect that you were brave enough to tell me how you feel!”

All of a sudden, Ayumu started to cry even more, but this time, he didn’t wipe away his tears. He just kept his eye contact with me as he let all his tears fall down his face.

“UGH! You are so corny! EW!” Ayumu weakly punched my shoulder and went back to wiping all the tears off his face.

Calming himself down, he looked up through his messy face and said, “But, you kind of looked cool saying that…” Then, with an embarrassed yet determined expression, Ayumu threw himself against me and wrapped his arm around me. 

I thought I would let him stay the way he is, but he started to rub his face against my jacket, getting snot and tears all over it. I started to become conflicted on whether I should let my jacket get any more snot on it when I noticed Ayumu wasn’t going to let me go. Even when he looked like he was going to explode with embarrassment, he was going to keep his arms around me, so I gave up.

As I patted on his soft head, Ayumu whispered under his breath, “I’m so glad I fell in love with a person like you.”

I slightly jolted up, but caught myself before I fell off the bench. I grabbed my tightened chest and tried to quietly breathe to slow down my heart rate.

_Ah, that was dangerous…_

  
  
  


After a few minutes, Ayumu fell asleep in my arms. I could tell he must have been tired waiting for me, but I was also worn out from today’s game to want to stay here any longer. I knew he was too embarrassed to stay at my place, but I didn’t want to wake him up from such a deep sleep. So, I pulled him up and began piggybacking him back to my house.

Holding onto the last bit of adrenaline rush I had that moment, I was reminded that this wasn’t the first time I found him so close to me like that…


	2. Chapter 2

I didn’t know him that well back then. 

Ayumu was a transfer student that moved into our school at the strangest time of third year.

From having dim red highlights in his unnaturally black hair to multiple empty ear pierced holes, people didn’t hesitate to spread rumors about him. 

“Heard that this guy is a delinquent. Just look at him! Bet that guy keeps avoiding eye contact, cause he feels too guilty to even look at us.”

“Right? I bet he got kicked out from his old school for drugs or something. Seriously look how pale and frail he looks.”

“Do you think he’s so small because those drugs stunted his growth?”

“He’s only got his baby face going for him. Do you think he took advantage of that to get some money? Gross.”

So many rumors about his looks and he just walked into his class for the first time.   
  


I didn’t know why, but I knew I had to at least talk to him. Whether it was my curiosity or pity, I knew I wanted to be friends with him. So, I attempted to talk to Ayumu, but like a transparent wall, he was clearly not interested in talking to me. 

“Yo, Eiji, who’s the kid?” Riku came up to me, heavily leaning on my right shoulder. 

“Ah, remember from the introduction, it’s Ayumu. Oh Ayumu, this is Riku, my childhood friend since elementary. He’s also captain of my baseball team.”

“Oh, yeah. We have known each other since elementary? It’s already been that long? Well, anyway, everyone is waiting for you. Don’t you want to get something to eat?”

“Wait, Riku, you just interrupted our conversation.”

“Huh, didn’t really seem like a conversation to me.”

Riku is the type of guy to stick up to me whenever he thinks I’m being a pushover. It gets a bit annoying sometimes, but I know he means the best for me. So, I tried to just brush it off until something really interesting happened.

I still remember Ayumu's first words to us. It was so cold that it was almost impossible to forget. “Go eat a dick and fuck off.”

The whole class went silent. I slightly snickered.

I could see Riku gripping his fist hard and then he snatched onto Ayumu’s collar.

“What did you say, you fucker?”

Ayumu stared blankly to the side and gave a loud sigh. “Just leave me alone, you fake blonde.”

Hearing the snickers of the classroom in the back, Riku looked like he was about to exploded with anger. Before he could do anything, I immediately locked my arms under his shoulder and pulled him away.

I tried to give the best smile I could and said, “Sorry about that, Ayumu. I didn’t mean to bother you.”

While dragging Riku into the bathroom to calm him down, I thought about my conversation with Ayumu as Riku angrily checked his hair in the mirror. 

I realized that Ayumu must have thought I was pitying him because of the classroom’s rumors about him. Just from his expression, I could tell what he’s been through, because I was the exact same way once…

So, after that, I never really tried to initiate the conversation, but I kept it in the back of my mind to keep trying at least. It wasn’t until one of my longest baseball practices a few days later that I was really able to have a real interaction with him.  
  
  


That night, another late practice went by and I continued on my way up the long flight of stone steps until I noticed a small metal piece on the ground. I grabbed it to get a better look at it.

It looked like a chain with a little wing-shaped piece on the end of it. Almost like an earring piece you would see in those fancy jewelry stores. 

I tried to figure out why something this new was dropped in an old and deserted place like this and noticed it landed right in front of the hidden path to the benched area.

Curious, I decided to go see if there was anyone in that area right now and walked off the path deeper into the forest.

No one.

At first, I didn’t see anyone at the bench, so I was slightly disappointed for a second until I heard a soft voice singing in the distance.

Rather than sitting on the large empty bench, he sat on top of the wooden fence with his feet hanging on the edge of the cliff. I couldn’t see what he really looked like with his hood over his head, but I could tell that he was singing a familiar tune.

The boy was singing a typical fast-paced pop song you would hear on the radio. Yet when he sang it, the tone of the song felt much more…nurturing.

Trying not to ruin the mood, I felt quite conflicted on whether I should quietly leave the earring down or wait until he finished his singing to personally hand it over. As I was trying to make up my mind on what to do, I heard the singing stop and looked up to find the new transfer student, Ayumu, staring back at me.

Attempting to not panic, I gave the best smile I could as I walked towards him with my right palm open and showed him the winged-earring evidence to try to clarify the situation.

“I-I’m sorry! I was just passing by and found this wing earring thing? I wanted to know if it was yours!”

Blinking rapidly as if he was trying to refocus on the situation, Ayumu touched his right earlobe and then painfully facepalmed himself out of embarrassment. 

“Here let me just give it to you!” As I ran up to him, he started to become even more flustered.

Ayumu stuttered loudly to me, “D-don’t! I’ll just get it mysel-“ 

But at that second when Ayumu stumbled to stand up, he lost his footing on the edge of the cliff. 

The air became cold.

All my muscles instinctively started screaming all at once, pushing me to dash towards his hand. It was as if my whole body was made for this moment.

I aggressively grabbed his open right hand in front of me and slammed my stomach against the wooden fence. Pulling him up as quickly as could, I didn’t realize how light he was and threw him in the air to the point of making him almost fly.

Next thing I knew, he was laying on top of me. 

For a second, I thought my chest was starting to heat up, but it was actually Ayumu’s red face against my chest. The longer I stared at him the more I found small details on him that I didn’t notice before.

Ayumu’s skin was extremely smooth and pale. It seems like he takes great care of it. His figure was quite thin, but I could feel how sharp his shoulders were as it poke against my sides. His messy black hair looked almost so soft that I almost found myself wanting to run my hands thro-

Suddenly, Ayumu jumped up from our current position and ran away to the shrine stairs.

I stood up to run after him, but I noticed how long I just laid staring at him and decided that it was already awkward enough. So, I made sure he reached the end of the stairs at least before I went back to the shrine. I sat at the staircase and watched him clumsily run downstairs. He eventually reached the main street and continued to run as quickly as he could. 

I placed my chin in my palm and stared at the expensive-looking metal wing in my hand. 

_This earring definitely suited him._

Pushing myself up, I slowly walked back up to the shrine and tried to process what just happened that moment.

I found myself still staring at my hands as I continued my way home. Flipping my hand around, I still felt all the details lingering from my fingers. 

_Ayumu’s small hand was so much smoother than my rough scarred hands and his wrist was really thin too…_

I shook my head, realizing how much of a creep I felt. I gave my face a light slap to wake myself and continue my way up the stairs, promising to just forget about that embarrassing moment. 

But for some reason, I still ended up coming back to that same place after school everyday and like usual, he was there. Staring out at the cliffside on the bench, Ayumu would just be sitting there and constantly look like he was longing for something…


	3. Chapter 3

Riku gave a strong smack against my shoulder. Startled, I almost tripped over my own foot and caught myself at the hallway’s wall. Riku waved back at the rest of our friend group and ended up tagging along with me to the classroom.

Laughing loudly at my overreaction, he said, “Dude, how are you still this easy to scare!”

“Hey! To be honest,” I reposition myself to face Riku better. “My reflexes are the reason why I’m the top pitcher of our team.”

“Sure man. But, you better be ready. Your captain is going to go hard mode in training from now on.”

“WHAT?! I thought that we were going to go a bit easier this time, especially since our game is coming up.”

“Nah, I want us to really prep for this game. This is our last year in high school. I want us to finish it with a bang!”

Yesterday was when Ayumu confessed to me. For some reason, I don’t remember what happened after I went up the shrine stairs. I must have been so tired that I blacked out. But, as soon as I woke up, I found myself in my bed and saw that he was gone. After that, I haven’t heard from him for a while.

Staring at Ayumu’s empty desk, I couldn’t stop thinking about him.

“Hey, Riku.”

“Yeah?”

“Actually, I’m curious. What did you think of Ayumu?”

"Huh, that kid who’s been kind of absent these past few weeks? Yeah, never really liked him. Especially with that shit he said to me. That first impression just confirmed that rumor.”

“Sure.” 

Riku really loved to talk about rumors and gossip. It might be why he’s so popular with the girls in our class. Even if I’m not a fan for talking about these kinds of stuff, I’m still willing to listen to a friend’s rant.

“No seriously, this kid has been all kinds of shit. Here me out. People have been saying that Ayumu was hanging out with a middle school gang and was really close to one of the leaders.”

“I see.”

“And guess what, the leader ratted him out and instead of protesting against it, Ayumu decided to just take the fall. He got expelled and everything. But, Ayumu’s dad is pretty well off, so they just used his connection to get him here. Rich kids honestly have it so easy. Oh, here’s the weirdest part, people are saying that Ayumu and that guy were way too close to just be friends. Like a bit too close.”

My chest slightly tightened. I scratched the back of my head and responded, “Those are just rumors.”

“Okay, well, I also heard that even those shady kids from our year decided to get involved.”

“Okay, so?”

“You know those kids who smoked in the back of the school? Yeah, they used to be a part of the rival middle school gang and would constantly break out into fights with Ayumu’s old gang. It’s honestly so stupid. Can’t believe they decided to just take out all the anger on him. From the way they treated him, I wouldn’t want to come to school either.”

“Wait, they bullied him?… Shit, how did I never notice it. He doesn’t even come to our school that much…”

“I’ll be honest. You’ve been so busy with baseball and hanging out with your gramps, I wouldn’t be surprised if you haven’t heard. Like I know they’re saying he’s out sick, cause he’s been in surgery, but I bet he just ran away. That’s what everyone’s been saying. You know, how rich families are, they also find ways to hide their children’s mistakes.”

_I have to talk to Ayumu about this at least once._

“Actually Riku, now that I think about it, why the hell do you know this much?”

Riku almost slipped on the desk he was leaning on and caught himself before he fell over.

Then, when he finally adjusted his position, he stammered, “A-ah, well… I just heard it from the team and you asked about it now…. You know it’s just been a while since I talked to you! Like you’ve haven’t been really hanging out with me anymor-”

“Sorry, man. I got to go.”

“Wait! D-don’t you have practice?”

“I know, but I already told the coach that I need to help Gramps with something at the shrine for today. I told you guys that if I’m in the team that this was going to happen once in a while.”

“O-oh yeah, umm, if you want, I can come with you to get some snacks or something. You know, before you go to the shrine.”

“Come on, Riku. You’re the captain. You can’t abandon your team like that.”

Riku started to fidget as if he was trying to remember something. He suddenly snapped his finger and said, “Oh yeah! Actually, Eiji?”

“Yeah?”

“Sorry, I was wondering. You’ve been so busy these days and I haven’t seen you much, but I just wanted to check in. You haven’t been getting those ‘nightmares’ again, right?”

I froze for a second until I noticed my hand shaking and immediately held it down to make sure Riku didn't notice.

I tried to force a smile and replied, “I’m good! Don’t worry about me! Just focus on the game!”

“I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t pushing you or anythin-“

“I’M FINE!” I tightened my hand around my trembling left arm. “I said I’m fine…”

Riku noticed that I was holding back my shaking arm, so he slightly retracted back and said with a more gentle tone, “Okay, just remember I’m always here to talk to you…”

“Yeah, for sure. Next week after our big game, let’s go to an arcade or something.”

“Yeah! No big deal!” Riku maintained his smile as hard as he could, but I could tell that he was frustrated at himself. Since we were little, he would always squeeze his fist when he was trying to hold himself back. As I packed for my thing, I briefly saw Riku’s expression drop for a second, showing a bit of sadness…

Leaving the classroom, I gave him a light pat on his shoulder and he responded with a weak laugh. 

I know I was the one who was uncomfortable, yet I felt guilty about how I reacted. Maybe it’s just cause I haven’t talked to him for a while that he’s been worrying about me. Now that I think about it, I’ve been hanging out with Ayumu in my free time. I haven’t even hung out with my school friends for a while. How long has it been since I talked to Riku like this?


	4. Chapter 4

It was finally Sunday and it’s been about two days since Ayumu confessed to me. 

After I brought him over to sleep at my house, I couldn’t find him at our usual meeting place for the past two days. I tried to give the benefit of the doubt and assumed that he had to deal with his own thing, but this was the first time this occurred. But as I was starting to get worried whether he’ll come back, I found him sitting at the usual place like those two days never happened.

I tried to do everything to get his attention, and then after a few attempts to make him laugh, I eventually noticed that he was giving me the silent treatment. Even though he avoided talking to me, he still followed me around to do our usual weekend schedule. 

We would go to the arcade, play a few fighting games, explore different parts of the town we never been to, and get something to eat. 

The whole time I would be having a one-sided conversation, but even with this silence, I knew he was listening. So after a few hours of just relaxing and doing what we wanted, I decided that I would finally use my secret weapon to get him to respond.

“Ayumu, we should get something good to eat.” 

_Silence._

“It’s my treat.”

I saw his ear perked up, but he continued to avoid eye contact. He eventually said, “It’s not like we’re doing anything interesting. Anyway, hearing you drone about baseball, it’s getting kind of draining.”

After those words, Ayumu immediately stood up and started speed walking towards the stairs. Trying to keep up with him, I would try to walk next to him, but he would keep his head down and continued to avoid making eye contact. 

He almost looked like a stubborn child. It was pretty cute.

As we approached our favorite convenience store, Ayumu sat at the sidewalk as I went in to grab our usual snack. 

Just in time, the elderly clerk smiled and handed over the snacks to me without even asking me for what I wanted. It was usually four curry steam buns, two red beans steam buns, a chocolate milk, and a coffee milk. 

But this time, she spoke to me and said, “That’s a lot of steam buns for a young man. Make sure you don’t eat too much before dinner.”

I lightly laughed at her joke and just replied with a simple “Sure.”

  
  
  


Finding a nice spot in the park, I handed Ayumu the coffee milk and the two red bean buns, but he didn’t take it. I gently placed down the food next to him and proceeded to open the buns that were still warm from coming straight out of the oven. I enjoyed every small endeavor of life.

After a few more buns, I decided to bring up the elephant in the room.

“Sorry about bringing you to my home. I promise that I immediately knocked out as soon as we got home, but I didn’t expect you to leave so early. I was kind of disappointed.”

Ayumu choked on his bun and pounded against his chest to breathe again. Looking at me with such angry eyes, he said, “You’re doing it on purpose, aren’t you?”

“I’m just trying to lighten up the mood.”

Ayumu ignored my response and proceeded, “I get it. I shouldn’t have just fallen asleep like that. It must have been annoying taking me with you.”

“No, actually, I was glad that I was able to get you to stay at my place. You always complained about not wanting to go home, yet you never accept my invitation to come over.”

“Come on, don’t you get it, man? Sometimes you’re so caring about others, yet you don’t get how much that kindness can be suffocating. Didn’t you ever think about how I feel?” Ayumu stared at the cold red bean buns and coffee milk in front of him.

“What do you mean exactly?”

Ayumu gave another heavy sigh and looked up at me. “I like you, idiot. It would be too much even for me to be with you alone in a room. I don’t think my heart would even be able to take that.”

I stared at him with my mouth open until I fully processed what he meant. My face slightly started to heat up, making me laugh out of embarrassment. Attempting to calm myself down and clear the misunderstanding, I kept rambling on about what I really meant.

“It was just an invitation! I didn’t really mean that much out of it? I mean, what do you think would happen? Hahaha!”

_Oh oops._

Ayumu tried to hide his face from me and started to wipe his face with the shoulders of his hoodie. “Yeah, what was I expecting? That was weird of me to say, just forget about it.”

Realizing what I just said, I pulled out a tissue from the convenience store bag and handed it to him. “I’m not really good at this, am I?”

He ignored the tissue and continued to wipe away his tears himself. “Not really.”

“Oh, how about this? Next time you need a place to stay, I’ll be in another room and blindfolded the whole time, so it would be like I don’t exist! And when I need something I would sneak around, so that you won’t even notice me!”

Ayumu sat for a few seconds of silence and then said, “Why are you trying so hard for me?”

“Eh, what do you mean?”

“I’m just your classmate. I’m not even your family member. Why are you trying to help me so much? I’m not anyone important, yet you keep trying to talk to me and help me. I bet, you just feel bad for someone like me?”

“No! That’s not it!”

“Then, what?”

“It’s just that…When I see you, you remind me of… me.”

“Wait, what? You? Mister Social Butterfly over here? You’re the star pitcher in your baseball team. Almost every girl talks about how you’re great looking and how they want to be your boyfriend! Even most of the guys are jealous of you.”

“Hey, don’t judge a book by its cover! I honestly don’t really care about things like that.” I unconsciously tightened my hand. “It’s not like I need to be popular, but you know, I just don’t like the idea of being alone. It scares me honestly. So, maybe that’s why it’s hard for me to say what’s on my mind. I don’t want to say anything weird and scare people away from me…But, unlike me, you’re pretty honest. You have such a straightforward response and you never really hide what you’re thinking. Like you have nothing to hide. I guess that’s why I kind of admire you.”

“Me? Are you sure? I don’t even have any friends in school. All I do is cry and pretty much skip my classes all time. I guess I’m pretty smart, but it doesn’t really matter when my grades are the worst.”

“Well, you’re great at singing too!”

As soon as I realized what I said and reminded him of that embarrassing moment we first met at the cliff, we simultaneously became red.

Ayumu quietly responded, “True, I am pretty good at singing.”

To change the topic, I decided to ask him what was on my mind. 

“Actually, Ayumu, why don’t you ever come back to school? You’ve been absent from school for a while now, so I don’t get to see you much.” Even though I knew exactly why he was absent, I wanted to hear it from him directly rather than based on some rumors.

Ayumu gave a cute pout and said, “School’s not for me. I can’t handle the boring lecture. And people kind of… suck…” I could see his hand slightly trembling as he tightened his hand around his arm. 

But, rather than holding himself back like usually does, he continued, “Hehe, it’s stupid. I’m pretty sure you heard by now. Let me say that whatever you heard, it’s all true. Rumors are scary, you know? It’s the main reason why I was forced to come to such a small town…”

Ayumu looked up with a sudden expression of worry. I must have unconsciously shown a sad face on me, so I immediately focused my face back into a smile. 

I tried to lighten up the mood and said, “I wish I knew this earlier! I would have beat them up! If you didn’t know, I used to pitch rocks at my bullies when I was younger! That’s technically how I saved Riku too!” 

Ayumu broke into a small snicker and replied, “Seriously, do you only have baseball on your mind? Don’t you have any other interests?”

“Uh…” I thought for a minute. “I like touching soft things!”

“Soft things? What does even mean? Like puppies or toys?”

“I don’t know. I just like touching things that are soft.”

“Ugh, can you at least be more specific?”

I stared at his hair and without a second thought, that sentence just came out of my mouth. “I guess, I kind of like touching your hair.”

Ayumu’s face was bright red and his ears slightly perked up again. Proud that I was able to change the mood a little, I felt almost glad to see such a transparent reaction.

Doing his best to keep a steady voice he replied, “Now, I know you’re doing this on purpose. Honestly, how the hell are you able to keep a straight face while saying that?”

I gave out a loud laugh and slapped my knee just like how my grandpa would laugh. Remembering that small habit, I was reminded that I had to go back to help my grandpa with the shrine. I shook my head and turned back to Ayumu to tell him I had to leave. But, as soon as I did, his face was suddenly up close to me.

Ayumu leaned closer towards me to the point that I almost felt his nose brush up against me. My body reacted faster than my thoughts as it was starting to get warmer and warmer. I tried to slow down my racing heart, but I was so scared that he was going to feel my trembling breath. Trying to look away, I suddenly spotted his thin, pink lips and thought for a second how soft his lip looked.

My chest started to quiver with each rise of breath. It was only for a brief moment, yet I couldn’t stop the shivers from running down my spine. Noticing where I was glancing at, I started to panic and kept looking up and down his face, confused on where I was supposed to stare at. I stuttered at the sudden situation and froze.

He whispered in a tone of voice I never heard before, “If you keep acting like that, I’m not going to be able to stop myself…”

“W-wait, umm-“ I quickly shut my eyes as if I was anticipating something to happen, but instead I was left a few seconds of awkward silence. 

Peering through one of my eyes, I looked down to see Ayumu curled up away from me and his body shaking. Before I could pat his shoulder, he burst out laughing while hugging his stomach.

“Your face! I can’t believe you thought I was actually going to do that! I got my revenge! Guess who looks stupid now!”

Even though I was humiliated for falling for such a simple trick, Ayumu’s laughter was too contagious and I just laughed along with him.

We kept laughing until I noticed the sun going down and remembered what I was supposed to do. I stood up towards the cold open air and picked away any leftover snacks that we had. 

“Well, Ayumu, it’s time. I’m gonna have to leave again. It was fun hanging out with you, but I promised my grandpa I would do something for him.”

“Oh yeah, it’s Sunday.”

“Yeah, well, I’ll see yo-“ 

“Wait!” Ayumu kept his eyes to the sidewalk and flicked his fingernails. “Umm, can I go with you?”

“Ah… You can. But, there’s one thing you have to promise me.”

“What would that be?”

“Wait for me at the bench. And,” I leaned in closer to Ayumu. “No matter what, don’t look into what I’m doing. If you do, I won’t forgive you.” 

Giving a gentle smile, I saw Ayumu’s face filled with confusion and slight fear. I then clarified, “It’s for the sake of the person’s privacy, okay?”

He stared back down at the sidewalk and nodded.

After throwing away the snacks in the trash bin, we walked towards the shrine as Ayumu slightly trail behind me.


	5. Chapter 5

The loud chimes of the bells echoed in the shrine and the beat of the drums blended with the hums of the prayer. I sat next to the person who we were praying for and continued to watch Gramps do his prayer session.

Every Sunday, we would have at least one person we would pray for. In exchange for not doing shrine chores on certain days, I would have to help Gramps with his prayer’s sessions. The sessions can last a whole day or just for one day, but for this Sunday, we only had one person we were praying for. 

Gramps knew him personally, so we decided to provide a private praying session for a close family member of his. He didn’t feel comfortable disclosing any more information other than that. So, we decided to just help him with his prayer and provide him the closure he needed.

The older man heavily prayed along in the session and mumbled loudly of his wishes. After an hour of prayer, Gramps finally settled down and bowed towards the older man.

With an aggressive bow, he stood up and we helped him out of the shrine. 

As we watched him leave, I felt Gramps place his large hand on my shoulder, causing me slightly jolt up.

He looked down at me with a shift in his expression from gentleness to a silent anger. “So, you seemed to be much busier these days. What seems to be keeping you from doing your chores?”

I felt my skin starting to sweat into my traditional prayer’s attire, making me adjust my collar. “Ah, it’s just that I’ve been practicing my baseball for the upcoming game, you know?”

Gramps gave a loud sigh and turned back to the small table. He signaled for me to sit across and waited to speak until I settled in front of him. “Eiji, I know you have been hanging out with your friend again.”

“Oh…”

Gramps must have seen Ayumu run out of the house that early morning. Usually Gramps would be sleeping on the other side of the house, but I guess, it’s possible that Gramps was cleaning the shrine that morning.

He continued, “I understand you’re young but that is not an excuse to be skipping on your duties. Remember that you are going to be the next in line to lead this shrine and I want to make sure that you learn your role.”

“I understand.”

“I know after the ‘incident’, everything is a little different… But, I hope you know that I am a priest not only for the people, but I am also your family. If you wish to speak with me, then I’m her-“

“I-it’s okay. I don’t need to trouble you with such small things.”

“I see. But, I still need to make sure, you haven’t been seeing those ‘things’ again?”

_ Ah, of course, it was brought up again… _

“Not really. I haven’t had them for a few years.”

Grandpa leaned to his right a little and started to adjust the items on the table. He always did that when he was in deep thought or trying to figure out what to say next.

  
  
  


Only an “incident” would be undermining the pain I went through.

It’s been almost three years since my parents passed away. I just graduated from middle school and was prepared for a new beginning. But on the same day, my parents went into a violent argument in the middle of driving. Blinded by emotions, my father wasn’t focused on the intersection and one careless turn, caused a horrible crash.

It was a miracle.

l came out of the accident without a single scratch on me, but it was the aftermath of the event that impacted me the most. For about two weeks, I had a horrible fever. My consciousness would keep slipping in and out of a fever. I kept seeing strange figures around me like disfigured humans calling out to me. I could barely make out what I saw that it would terrify me. I even had night terrors in the middle of day, when Riku and Gramps would visit me.

I got scared. 

Once I started to recover, those figures stopped showing up. That’s when I decided to tell Gramps of what happened to me during my recovery. But rather than believing me, I could tell that he thought I was crazy. From his reaction, I decided to just go along with what he said about how it was just some hallucinations from my depression. 

I kept it all to myself, ignoring everyone around me and daydreaming about going off to a far off land away from all this. It took me a while to adjust back into my regular life, but occasionally when I feel sick or was under a lot of stress, I start seeing those disfigured shadows saying my name over and over again. I eventually got used to it and moved on, but sometimes I think I’m unconsciously avoiding the shrine for so long. I guess I’ve been afraid to go back to those shadows, because they remind me of why I ended up here in the first place…

  
  
  


I pushed myself off the ground and turned my back towards Gramps. “If that’s all, I think I’m going to get ready for school. I’ll clean up after I get some things done.” I quickly removed myself from the scene and didn’t look back to see Gramp’s face. I didn’t want to deal with any more of his disappointment.

I rushed outside the shrine and changed back into my clothes from this morning. Looking around the entrance of the shrine, I finally found the person I was searching for. 

His small figure was almost hidden behind the red pillar of the shrine gate. He was looking up at the sky as his hand was stuffed inside his black hoodie. With such a desolate expression, it almost drew me towards him.

But I didn’t resist this strange attraction.

I wanted to touch his shoulder for a quick second, but I pulled myself back. I decided to, instead, just to give a small “Hey.” 

Taking him out his trance, I continued by saying, “Did I take too long?”

Ayumu kicked at the empty air on the ground and gave a single, “Nah.”

“Well, I’m glad you kept your promise. If you want, I’ll treat you again next time.”

“Thanks, but I think I’m just glad I got to see you again…” Ayumu gazed back at the same spot of the sky that he was looking at. “You know, I wonder how long I can keep staying like this.”

When Ayumu leaned closer to me, I reflexively stepped back a little.

I put my hands up to make some space between us.“S-sorry, I kind of smell from that prayer session.”

_ That was a lie. _

Ayumu’s face turned pink and he started to awkwardly laugh.

“O-oh, it’s no problem. That’s normal. It’s kind of weird to say, but… I’ve been kind of missing you.”

“That’s a bit flattering. But, what’s with the sudden attachment? You’re like a lonely puppy.”

“Ugh, take me seriously for a second!” Ayumu walked up to me again, but he kept his distance. “Hey, Eiji. I’m sick of this town.”

“Hmm, what are you saying?”

“I was thinking this town is too small and old fashioned. I kind of want to go far away. Somewhere in the city. I’m a pretty good singer, so I could try to work my way to get a gig.”

“That’s a really nice dream, Ayumu! It’s always good to have a goal to go after!”

“This isn’t a dream, though. I want to make it reality now…”

With a sharp breath, he quickly drilled me with as much information as possible. “Eiji, I don’t have much time. Before I moved here, my dad told me that we were only going to stay here for a few months and we were going to move again. But I hate this small-minded town. I especially hated having to constantly move without ever making enough time to settle.”

For the first time, Ayumu was really being as vulnerable as he can to me and I felt every single emotion of his words spill out. Anger, excitement, fear. All bursting out of such a small body.

He proceeded with such determination, “My dad is going to drag me along with him, so we only have one moment to pack up as many things as we can and run. The train tickets that I bought are at my house and nobody should be there. Since I have to do some things before we leave, just grab them for me and we can go out tomorrow. I know it’s sudden, but please run away with me!”

Ayumu stared at me with his hand out, waiting for a response. His eyes were already so big compared to how small his face was. So, when he looked at me with such bright and sparkling eyes, I felt a chills crawl down the back of my neck.

I didn’t understand why, but he felt so different from before that I even started to get scared of him. I wanted to grab his hand, but I felt my body uncontrollably shaking. It wasn’t cold, but my whole body just wouldn’t stop shaking.

Ayumu noticed my trembling hands and stepped back. 

He gave a weak smile and continued, “Sorry… that’s a bit too much. I’ll just leave now. Unlike me, you’re actually trying in school. I don’t want to hold you back! But, just forget about me, you have a life here and I don’t want to take that from you!” 

“Wait, that’s not it-“

“It’s okay. You must be tired today. You got a big game tomorrow, right? I’ll be cheering you on even if I’m not there!”

And then he was gone. Running off down the stairs, I watched his soft hair bounce up and down until I couldn’t see any part of him.

For some reason, my body wouldn’t move. It was as if, even if I ran after him, I knew deep inside what the answer was. That it would be impossible to go with him. No matter what it would be impossible to be with him.

Defeated, I decided to go back to my house and get ready for the big game tomorrow. 

I kept repeating the same scene in my head until my heavy eyelids completely embraced the lonely yet soothing darkness.


	6. Chapter 6

I could barely sleep last night and kept repeating what Ayumu said to me last night. I kept thinking to myself why I couldn’t say anything. I felt completely pathetic.

Then just in time, Riku came up to me and wrapped his right arm around my shoulder.

“Yo, Eiji. Ready for the game?”

“Yeah…” I rubbed my throbbing eyelid, trying to keep myself awake. 

“Ah, Eiji. I don’t want to do this to ya, but I need to tell you something extremely important. Apparently, right after you asked me about Ayumu, the news came out that Ayumu-.”

When we reached our classroom, Riku got distracted by the large crowd that was forming around our classroom, it was almost impossible to see the inside of the classroom. Curious, I squeezed myself through the crowd until I saw what was the cause of the commotion.

A bouquet of flowers was left on Ayumu’s desk.

I slowly walked up to his desk and stared at the flowers.

Riku caught up to me and tried to get my attention. “Hey, why’d you stop-“

I grabbed Riku by the collar and shouted, “How long was this going on?! How long was he getting bullied?! You saw him, didn’t you?! You saw him and you didn’t do anything!”

Riku squeezed my wrist and wrestled to get out of my grip. “Hey let go of me! Eiji, calm down!”

“I-” Slowly letting Riku go, I realized that I was the same. “I didn’t know either. I didn’t do anything either.”

Blinded by anger, I snatched the flowers and threw it out the window like I was trying to pitch a baseball as far away as possible. The class erupted into panic at my sudden action and was loudly yelling at why I did that. I forced my way out of the classroom and ran as quickly as I could.

I didn’t care about what they said. I didn’t care about who was chasing me. They were all just assholes judging a kid they don’t even know. They don’t even know him, so why… why do they act like I don’t know what happened to him.

  
  
  


Up the broken and tattered stone stairs, I made my way up to the usual meeting spot. For a second I got scared about where he disappeared to and searched around for any signs of him.

Then, with a wave of relief, I spotted that familiar black hair with red highlights sticking out of the bench’s back and ran up to it. Usually I would be the first one to start the conversation, but this time it was different.

Ayumu gave a melodic sigh and tilted his head back a bit. “Don’t be surprised. I’m sure you knew.”

“Haha, Ayumu, what are you talking about? Stop being so weird right now. You’re scaring me.”

“Eiji, I’m not supposed to be here. I was supposed to leave, yet I just couldn’t. I just wanted to keep staying with you.” Ayumu stood up, yet he continued to stare out from the cliff. 

“SHUT UP!” I felt my fist clenching so hard that I started to feel my short nails dig into my palm. I bit the edge of my lip, so the pain could help me properly focus on what I wanted to say. “How… How long?”

“How long for what?”

“How long were you like this? How long were you-“

“Dead?”

My body clenched up and I unconsciously crossed my arms as if I was trying to stop the shaking. 

I pushed myself to slowly walk to the bench and as I sat down, Ayumu continued to stare out to the cliff. Even now, Ayumu looked the same as usual, but his eyes were so empty. So empty that it was almost like there was nothing but a hole in both of his eyes. 

Ayumu spoke up gently, “Do you want to hear a story?”

I stayed silent.

Ayumu adjusted himself and continued, “Ever since, I was little I had a weak heart and lung. I got it from my mom’s side. She had a pretty hard time with me after I was born, so I knew what she had to go through. Unfortunately, it seems that I was born even more unlucky than her.”

I stayed silent, but I slowly glanced up to look at Ayumu. His eyes briefly sparkled when he mentioned his mother and went back to that same emptiness.

“I knew that I wasn’t going to live that long and everyday was too painful. It felt like maybe it wasn’t really worth going through this. Maybe, none of it was worth it. So, I thought that I should take this into my own hands.”

Flinching at his words, I suddenly realized what Ayumu was talking about.

I finally decided to speak up, “You were… That day were you planning on jumping off the cliff?”

“It wasn’t just that day. It was everyday. I would come by that same cliff, thinking whether I should just do it. Thinking and thinking… Ah, is this really what I want?”

“But, you stopped because… I was there.”

“Yeah. Honestly, I thought you were pretty annoying.”

“Ouch…”

“Your annoying loud voice is always calling to me. Your clinginess to keep checking on me. Your stupidly high energy to help everyone around you. Your kind gestures when I’m feeling down. Your ability to tell what I need just by looking at me…This isn’t fair… I’m so badly in love with you that it just isn’t fair how much effect you have on me.”

“Haha… Stop, you’re being so honest that… it’s too cute.” It was even hard to mutter those words to him. I felt like I was going to cry any second, but for some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

Ayumu leaned his chin against the palm of hand as he looked at me. His gaze was so focused on me that I was starting to get shy.

“Well let me keep being honest to you, Eiji.” Ayumu leaned closer to me and smiled. “To this day, my biggest regret is not kissing you the first time I saw you.”

Shivers ran down my spine. I remember this feeling. It was the same racing sensation I felt when he was this close to me at the convenience store. I know I’m supposed to turn away in instances like these, but I couldn’t…or more like I didn’t want to.

Ayumu returned back to his seat and gave a playful smile. “I’m glad you thought the same.”

Snapping out of my trance, I shook my head furiously, “Wait, no! I didn’t!”

Ayumu quietly snickered and continued, “I was trying so hard to ignore you when I first found out what happened to me. I was trying to come to terms with the fact that I was truly dead, but you kept treating me like I was alive that I kept denying what happened. I kept thinking, ‘Is this guy not creeped out that he can see a ghost?’. Whether it was fate or coincidence, I was just so happy you were able to see me…”

He sneered at me and pretentiously said, “You know, I could even tell you knew from the very start that I was dead, yet you still pretended everything was fine. You gave my favorite snacks, but you were just eating by yourself, remember? No one saw me on the street waiting for you. Even that old clerk lady didn’t notice.”

“That doesn’t prove anything.”

“You didn’t let me join you in the prayer session, because you were afraid that as soon as I was reminded of my death that you would be forced to realize that I’m never able to come back. That time at the shrine gate, when I wanted to hug you, you stopped me because you knew that you wouldn’t feel anything. You knew that you couldn’t accept my offer to run away, because it was just wishful thinking. That even if I left this town with you, I have no future as a ghost. You saw all the signs and you knew deep inside that I was already gone, yet you were always there…”

I angrily slammed the bench causing Ayumu to slightly jolt back.

I shouted at him, “Yeah! I knew! So what?! Who cares if you’re dead? Who cares if we pretended that you were alive? Wasn’t it fun? Wasn’t it great to be together like this? We can be like this forever, because you’re still Ayumu and no matter what if you’re dead or alive, I… I still lov-” 

A cold wind rushed up to my lips. Ayumu was leaning his face against me, yet I felt nothing. I felt nothing, but the empty cool air and hot tears running down my cheeks. As Ayumu slowly backed down, he looked at me with such a joyful and gleaming gaze. Even with such a glassy and see-through skin, he looked so warm and alive just like the day that I meant.

Ayumu smirked and whispered to me, “Maybe, I should be more aggressive in my next life.”

“You, what?!” I felt my face getting more red. Seeing this side of Ayumu was driving me insane. His usual shyness contrasted so much with his sudden straightforward attitude that I was so confused on how to feel about it. My face felt like it was going to burst any second.

“Eiji” Ayumu looked straight into my eyes with the brightest smile I’ve seen from him in a while. “You gave me so much happiness that my heart is so overfilled. I’ve never been so happy in my entire life. Hey, tell Dad for me that he was the best dad a son could ever ask for and that I’m sorry for not being enough.”

As Ayumu stood up, I jumped up next to him. “What do you mean, Ayumu? You can always come with me to tell him! Where are you going?”

“You are so annoying.”

Ayumu’s hand curled up into a fist and he continued, “Even when you know I’m dead, you keep clinging onto me. You and I both know that I can’t keep staying here. I want to move on. I want you all to move on. If I stay here any longer, you’re going to start to attach to me. The living shouldn’t attach themselves to the dead or they would lose touch with the ones they already have. Eiji, you have people that still love you. You can’t hold onto someone that isn’t here anymore. And if I do stay here any longer…” He gave a deep laugh and whispered, “I’m really not going to be able to stop myself from attaching to you too.”

My vision was starting to blur and my head was pounding. I had to say everything I could to stop him. 

“I’m sorry that I wasn’t enough. I’m sorry that I never gave you the love you deserved.” With my face wet from my tears, I took a deep breath and yelled from the deepest pit of my stomach with all the accumulated feelings I had for him, “ **I ACCEPT YOUR CONFESSION! I! LOVE! YOU!** ” 

As I was catching my breath, I tried to see his reaction to what I said.

Ayumu struggled to stop himself from looking back, so I couldn’t see his face. But even when he kept walking forward to the cliff, I could tell from how his ear perked up, he couldn’t hold back his smile.

It was just a phrase, yet I couldn’t help feel so scared.

The harsh ray of the sun made it too hard to clearly see his expression.

It was almost like he was being drowned from the noisy light.

It was almost like this was all a dream…

“From the deepest depth of my heart, I’m truly glad that I fell in love with you…” With one glance, he whispered, “Ah, I really don’t want to leave…”

  
  



	7. Chapter 7

I placed the red bean bun and coffee milk on the ground.

I quietly sat next to the gravestone in silence.

The gravestone wrote, “Ayumu. An angelic dream that lives on in all our hearts.”

As I sat there for a few more minutes, an older man with a large mustache came up next to me.

He stared at me for a few seconds and spoke up, “Ah, aren’t you the priest’s grandson?”

I was broken out of my trance and realized who was speaking to me. I immediately stood up and replied, “Oh, yes. And you are…?”

“I remember when you were so much younger. Your grandfather and you provided me that private praying session. To this day, I am truly thankful for you taking your time for me. You both truly helped at my lowest point.”

“Of course. You are a close friend of grandpa and Ayumu’s father. We are just grateful to hear that we were able to provide you closure.”

“I heard you used to be in that big ball game four years ago? One of the biggest talks of our town. Winning such a big match for a small town like ours and then winning by a landslide. How did the victory feel?”

“Oh… Actually, I wasn’t there to see it.”

“Hmm, weren’t you their star pitcher?”

“Well, it seems that they were pretty fine on their own.”

“I see. So, are you still going to continue to help out with your grandfather’s shrine?”

“Yeah, at first, I thought it was pretty boring. But being able to help out so many people with the closure they need, I think that’s enough to bring me some happiness.”

“That’s great, but remember that a young man like you should go out once in a while.”

“Now that I think about it, I haven’t talked to my old baseball team captain for a while. Maybe I should visit him. He’s actually at a pretty famous business college in the city, so it wouldn’t hurt to have a change of pace.”

The older man gave such a hearty laugh that it felt so familiar.

“Well, Eiji, I’m glad to see you grow up so fast. And thank you for visiting my son. If he was a bit more healthier, then he would have been about your age.”

“Yes, he was a great person. I had one of my fondest memories just talking with him.”

The man started to sniffle and wipe away his tears. “I’m glad to hear that there was someone that cared about him… After my wife died, it wasn’t easy caring for the young man. He had his rebellious attitude similar to my wife, yet he was too sensitive like me. After all the horrible things that boy went through, I was so afraid that he would get so hurt that he would forget that not all people were like that…”

“I completely understand.”

“But, it seems that he was also too similar to my wife and came down with the same heart condition as her. They both have such big, yet weak hearts…” The man took out a handkerchief and sat down on his knee. “After all those days of running away, he seemed to finally return on that day. I was always coming late at home, but that day, I happened to stay overtime at the office. It was finally until I came back home that I found him in bed… H-he had a horrible relapse overnight and even when he was taken to the hospital, he was in a coma for a few days…”

He tried to speak as he kept choking through his words. “My biggest regret is that I was too busy to worry about my son. I just kept assuming that he ran away, because he was ignorant, but it was because I was a horrible father. I’m so sorry, Ayumu. I wasn’t enough. I wasn’t able to give you the love that you deserved. You deserved more than your dumb father!”

The man started to cry even harder and wept even more in his handkerchief. I knelt down and gave him a pat on the back. 

“I understand. But, I will say your son is a lot stronger than you might think. He was one of the strongest and most outspoken people I could ever met. I know if he could, he would have come back home, but I bet he just had too many amazing people he wanted to spend his youth to the fullest possible way. Because you were so supportive and worked hard, you were able to allow him to do that. He even told me himself that he thought you were an amazing father and that he regrets never telling you so.”

“Ah.” He wiped away his tears and gave a small laugh. “That boy. He’s too prideful for his own good. That sounds exactly what my wife would have done as well… Thank you, Eiji. You really did it, again. You truly helped me in my hardest times.”

“Of course.”

“I am actually curious. How did you meet my son? He barely went to school and he did not seem to like mingling with kids his age.”

As I was looking at the gravestone for a few seconds, the man handed me another handkerchief in his pocket and smiled. I didn’t realize for a while, but there were tears that were rolling down my face.

“Well.” I wiped the tears off my face and laughed through my sudden emotions. “Let’s just say he wasn’t always the greatest influence on me either.”

We both gave out a small laugh until we were able to settle down our emotions. 

The man gave me a soft smack on the back and said, “I know that he’s looking down at us with a smile. Along with your parents, I know he will be watching us with all the love that we were able to give him.”

I nodded back to him. “I believe they are all watching over us.”

The man eventually stood up and left with his usual aggressive bow.

Standing in front of the gravestone alone, I took out a small metal wing earring piece along with a tattered baseball and placed it down next to the red bean bun. 

For a split second, I had a thought. Perhaps, all those shadows I saw weren’t really bad. Maybe they were trying to protect me. Maybe, they were watching over me in my hardest times as well.

With a smile, I looked back up at the sky for a few more minutes…

  
  



End file.
